By Erica Johnson, PhD

Manager of Early Learning Policy and Innovation, Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning

I can still remember the children in my first kindergarten classroom. It was August 2001—my first year of teaching—and I was as nervous as they were. On the first day, I welcomed them at the door and helped new families navigate their day one nerves. After helping these new kindergartners find their cubbies and seats, I watched as parents—some teary-eyed, some stoic—said their goodbyes.

That day, there were 26 kids. Looking back, it’s remarkably easy to see who was socially and emotionally ready for kindergarten and who wasn’t quite there yet. It was only years later that I recognized that a child’s preparation had everything to do with what they did before kindergarten.

Sienna* and her twin brother, Angelo*, participated in a well-regarded local preschool program. Kindergarten was not a new challenge for them, it was just a new setting. Sienna walked into the room on the first day with confidence, inquired about her cubby and asked if she could use the materials at her table to draw a picture. Angelo was also confident but less interested in table work. His biggest concern was when recess would start and if I had a soccer ball (I did).

Mariella* was a heritage-language speaker with limited exposure to English. Academically, she was ready for Kindergarten, but she struggled socially and emotionally. In the beginning of the year, she cried every day when her mom left. Mariella had not been in a formal preschool program before kindergarten which made acclimating to school environment a challenge. Even though more than half of the children in the class spoke Spanish, there were no school-level resources to support her transition to kindergarten which likely compounded her separation anxiety. I believe her kindergarten transition experience was more difficult than it needed to be.

Kevin* and Keeley* spent the beginning of the year a bit lost. They had not participated in preschool so everything was new to them. Letters, reading and math concepts, and navigating peer relationships were all new. I remember that Kevin would identify every letter was a K, since that was the first letter of his name. Sweet and quiet, Keeley would shut down when she got confused or overwhelmed. They made progress throughout the year, but basic reading readiness activities were too advanced for what they needed. Due to State requirements around reading (in Florida, in 2001), they were both required to repeat Kindergarten the next year.

I imagine what that year would have been like for Mariella if she had been in a dual language preschool that eased her into English while providing linguistically- and culturally-appropriate support. What would that year have been like for Kevin and Keeley if they had access to peers for social development and pre-academic experiences through high-quality preschool? How would Kindergarten have been different for these kids? How would school have been different?

Fast-forward to 2018 and I now work for the City of Seattle to help develop and expand the Seattle Preschool Program. I know the research. I know that in the 2017-18 school year, 64.1% of children in Seattle Public Schools kindergarten classes were determined to be ready for kindergarten in assessments of social-emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, and math. That means that almost 36% of kids were not ready in one or more area.

Within that 36%, we see pervasive racial and socioeconomic inequities. Children identified as middle or high income and White are more likely to be found to be ready in all areas than those identified as children of color, low-income, or limited English proficient. From research and from experience, we know that access to affordable, high-quality preschool can make a difference for our children and help close the opportunity gap.

It’s easy to talk about the research, but to feel the difference preschool makes, I have to think back to Sienna, Angelo, Mariella, Kevin, Keeley, and all of their classmates. Each of these kids—and all kids—deserve the best “day one” of kindergarten the community can give them.

*all names of these young learners were changed

Postscript: Mariella, a beneficiary of the Dream Act and an opportunity scholarship, graduated from a state university with honors. I still wish her kindergarten experience had been easier for her but am endlessly proud of her accomplishments and can’t wait to see what happens next.

Only three years into a 4-year pilot, the Seattle Preschool Program was awarded high honors this week in a national assessment of preschool programs. A new national report assessing how the largest U.S. cities address health and well-being issues awarded honors for high-quality preschool programs, with only 5 programs receiving higher honors than the Seattle Preschool Program.

A group of preschool children are learning to count with plastic blocks.

CityHealth, an initiative of the de Beaumont Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, analyzed the nation’s 40 largest cities for nine key policies that experts say help residents lead healthier lives and make communities thrive. CityHealth awarded each city a gold, silver, bronze, or no medal, according to their performance in the assessment. Nationwide, 33 out of 40 cities received a medal for high-quality Pre-K.

“”We are so pleased that the CityHealth initiative has recognized the incredible progress the Seattle Preschool Program and all of our talented preschool providers have achieved within the first three years of the pilot,” said Monica Liang-Aguirre, Director of Early Learning for the City of Seattle. “As we move into our fourth year, we are excited to keep improving and providing more opportunities for families to access our high-quality preschool program.”

The Seattle Preschool Program was approved in 2014 by voters to fund a four-year pilot of the Seattle Preschool Program. The Seattle Preschool Program helps prepare children to enter school with the skills they need to succeed. Research shows that children who attend high quality preschool programs have better academic and life outcomes: they’re more likely to have better grades, graduate, attend college, get a job, have higher lifetime wages and better mental and physical health.

The Seattle Preschool Program is open to all 4-year-olds and income eligible 3-year-olds. To apply to the Seattle Preschool Program visit seattle.gov/applyspp

Next Wednesday, May 30th at Franklin High School, Seattle City Council will be holding a public hearing beginning 6:00pm on the proposed Families, Education, Preschool & Promise levy. This hearing will feature a presentation from the Department of Education and Early Learning on the proposed package. This is your opportunity to make your voice heard on investments in Education for our City. We invite you to join for public comment at the hearing, if you are unable to attend can also email your comments to edlevy2018@seattle.gov.

Thank you for your commitment to education and early learning in the City of Seattle. The Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) would like to invite you to attend a community meeting to hear an update on the feedback received for the upcoming renewal of the Families and Education Levy and Seattle Preschool Program Levy. Over the last several months DEEL facilitated a total of 33 meetings with over 465 total attendees, representing over 105 different organizations to get feedback to inform and prioritize funding investments for the Levy.

We would like to make sure our community has the opportunity to hear what input the city gathered and how it is being incorporated in future planning. To this end we are hosting two community meetings one on Saturday April 21st, and another on Monday April 23rd to discuss the priorities for the levy we received to date from parents, families and community members.

Below are two opportunities to hear more about the community input we received. Childcare and interpretation available upon request by EOD Tuesday, 4/17.

Thanks in advance for your commitment to this work and willingness to inform the city’s education investments. We look forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions please contact Austin Miller; austin.miller@seattle.gov

Today, the Seattle Preschool Program announced the start of its 2018-19 application cycle and celebrated the expansion of 22 additional classrooms for the next school year.

Applications are now open for all 4-year-olds in the city regardless of family income level. Three-year-old children whose families meet income eligibility are also welcome to apply at this time. Visit seattle.gov/applyspp to check out our new sites and apply to the Seattle Preschool Program.

14 new locations will be available for Seattle Preschool Program families in the ’18-’19 school year.

As applications for the final year of the SPP Pilot open, the Seattle Preschool Program is on-track to exceed its demonstration phase goal of 75 classrooms by the end of this school year. The 22 new classrooms will continue to increase the geographic diversity of the program, with significant growth in neighborhoods throughout Seattle, so that families in more areas can access high-quality preschool near their homes.

“Preschool is one of the most powerful tools we have to change the trajectory of a child’s life,” said Department of Education and Early Learning Director Dwane Chappelle. “Expanding Seattle’s commitment to affordable, high quality preschool throughout the City is how we deliver for our kids.”

In 2014, Seattle voters approved Proposition 1B (Ordinance 124509) to fund a four-year pilot of the Seattle Preschool Program. The Seattle Preschool Program helps prepare children to enter school with the skills they need to succeed. Research shows that children who attend high quality preschool programs have better academic and life outcomes: they’re more likely to have better grades, graduate, attend college, get a job, have higher lifetime wages and better mental and physical health.

SEATTLE (March 6, 2018) – Today, the City of Seattle announced the opening of a new preschool space adjacent to Miller Community Center. The Miller Annex is the result of a $3M partnership between Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Seattle Preschool Program to increase the quantity and accessibility of licensable preschool space in Seattle.

The Miller Annex center will be a part of the Seattle Preschool Program and serve 80 three and four-year-old children in this new location. Two classrooms will open in March 2018 and stay open throughout the summer. All four classrooms will be open for operation for the 2018-19 school year. Applications for the ’18-’19 school year will open on March 15 at www.seattle.gov/applyspp.

As part of the Seattle Preschool Program, Seattle voters set aside $8.5 million to support the expansion, renovation, or improvement of early education facilities to help ease the pressure on early learning providers to find usable space for preschool classrooms. The Department of Education and Early Learning invested $1.7 million of Seattle Preschool Program Levy funds for the Miller Annex tenant improvements.

The Miller Annex of Miller Community Center is owned by Seattle Parks and Recreation who contributed approximately $1.3 million in funding to significantly upgrade the facility. The construction process consisted of substantial alterations to the core of the building, including seismic, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and energy-related improvements.

All four of the preschool classrooms will be operated by Launch, a provider who has been with Seattle Preschool Program since its first year. Launch (formerly named Community Day School Association) offers high quality preschool, before & after school, and summer programs for children ages 3-12.

Approved by voters in 2014, Seattle Preschool Program providers receive funding from the City, intensive coaching and training for their teachers, and access to teacher education and facility improvement funds to offer high-quality early learning opportunities for Seattle’s four-year-olds and income eligible three-year-olds.

The Seattle Preschool Program helps prepare children to enter school with the skills they need to succeed. Research shows that children who attend high quality preschool programs have better academic and life outcomes: they’re more likely to have better grades, graduate, attend college, get a job, have higher lifetime wages and better mental and physical health.

Mayor Jenny Durkan and the Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning will host a community event to discuss and learn about the Seattle Promise – Mayor Durkan’s initiative to provide two years of free college tuition to Seattle Public Schools graduates and help build economic opportunity for everyone in Seattle. The program, which is still in development, will provide the support necessary for all eligible graduates of Seattle Public Schools to attend up to two years (90 credits) of courses at partner public colleges. Program implementation will begin in the 2018-19 school year, beginning with current 13th Year Promise Scholarship Program students, who will be eligible for an additional 45 credits of support next school year. The Seattle Promise will be modeled on the 13th Year Promise Scholarship Program currently offered to 12th grade students at Cleveland, Chief Sealth, and Rainier Beach High Schools.

We invite all those interested to come learn about the preliminary work that has been done to bring the Seattle Promise to Seattle Public Schools graduates. Participants will have an opportunity to hear from the Mayor on her vision for Seattle Promise, listen to a short presentation on the work that has been done so far, ask questions about the direction of the Seattle Promise program, and give feedback on its future development.

The Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning would like to invite you to attend a community forum to discuss the principles and priorities of the upcoming Families and Education Levy. This 2018 Levy will focus on funding the educational needs of youth and families. It will do so by combining two existing levies – the Families and Education Levy and the Seattle Preschool Program Levy – into a single levy.

We would like to make sure constituents affected by the levy have the opportunity to shape and/or influence its content. To this end we are hosting two input forums on Saturday January 20th, to identify priorities and receive feedback on our programs to date from parents, families and community members.

We’d love for you to attend one of the meetings below and share your insights and offer input regarding the Families and Education Levy.

In addition, the below events are available for drop in, if you’d like to stop by and add your voice.

Saturday January 13th

Parks MLK Event Workshops

Rainier Community Center 4600 38th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118

12:30PM-2:30PM

Monday January 15th

Garfield MLK Day Workshops

Garfield High School, 23rd Avenue at E. Jefferson, Seattle

9:30AM-10:45AM

Thanks in advance for your commitment to this work and willingness to inform the Families and Education Levy. We look forward to hearing from and serving alongside you moving forward. If you have any questions please contact Austin Miller; austin.miller@seattle.gov

Today the Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning announcing the release of the Summer Learning Request for Investment. In Summer 2018, DEEL will invest up to $1 million in school and community-based programs to prevent summer learning loss and improve academic outcomes for Seattle students.

Funding will be broken out into the following award categories:

Elementary School – $260,932

Middle School – $286,373

High School – $461,250

The Families and Education Levy, approved by voters in 2011, will fund these investments in summer educational opportunities. Funding was also provided by the 2018 General Fund to incorporate culturally responsive practices into Levy summer programming. Culturally responsive summer learning funding, first implemented Summer 2017 is intended to utilize culturally responsive programming to prevent summer learning loss and improve academic outcomes for African-American/Black students and other students of color.

Schools and community-based organizations are encouraged to apply for funding. Funds will be awarded on a competitive basis. DEEL will host three information sessions through January and February with proposals due Wednesday, February 28, 2018 by 4:30pm. More information can be found on the DEEL website.

Today the Department of Education and Early Learning is pleased to announce the selection of committee members for the City of Seattle Family Child Care Advisory Committee. The Committee will be an instrumental body as the Department shapes its family child care investments.

The purpose of the Committee is to support the development of the City of Seattle family child care strategy. With a lens on equity, access and where/how to provide supports, the committee will make recommendations for city investments, research initiatives and activities that impact the family child care community.

Members of the Family Child Care Advisory Committee have a broad range of expertise and represent many facets of the family child care community. Of the 20 selected committee members, 70% are active, current family child care owners with their business in both the north, central and south sections of the city. The Committee also consists of parents, public health, and community-based organizations that work with the FCC community.

The Committee and the Department will mutually develop a specific workplan, but the group will review several existing City initiatives that impact FCCs, such as the Family Child Care SPP Pilot, a Parent Child Home Program (PCHP) Family Child Care Pilot and a family child care study.

The ongoing advisory group will begin regular meetings in early December of 2017.